Rays DOTF 7/21: Brendan McKay launches first professional homerun

Triple-A Durham Bulls (59-38)

The Lehigh Valley Pigs came out on top of the Bulls by a score of 12-6. In a matchup of two of the more talented teams in minor league baseball, the Pigs showcased their strong bats throughout the night. The Bulls' sloppy defense didn't help. In the first inning, Jake Hager committed an error, allowing top prospect J.P. Crawford to score. Runner Rhys Hoskins and Dylan Cozens moved up to second and third on the same play after Willy Adames committed a throwing error, and they both came around to score in the inning.

Rehabbing 1B Rickie Weeks smashed a two-run home run in the third inning to bring the Rays within one. Former Twins' prospect Pedro Florimon hit home runs in the fourth and sixth innings to extend the Pigs' lead to 6-2. Jeff Ames yielded a run on a wild pitch later in the sixth inning, and J.P. Crawford singled in another run, extending their lead to 8-2. The Pigs would push across four more runs in the eighth inning, with Jake Bauers committing a key error in left field.

The Bulls battled back to add four runs in their eighth innings, including a two-run home run from Johnny Field, but the comeback effort wasn't enough to change the result of the game. Former top prospect Jake Thompson only allowed two runs on three hits and one walk over the course of seven innings, mixing in four strikes. Austin Pruitt lasted five innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on five hits and walks, striking five batters out. Ryan Yarborough will face off against Mark Leiter in tomorrow's matchup against the Iron Pigs.

Willy Adames 1-for-5 2B RBI R

Rickie Weeks Jr. 1-for-2 HR RBI 2 R 2 BB K

Jake Bauers 0-for-3 RBI

Casey Gillaspie 0-for-4

Kean Wong 2-for-4 2B R K

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (52-45)

The Biscuits blanked the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 5-0. Montgomery put up a run in the second, fourth and sixth inning before scoring twice in the eighth inning. With the support, Edwin Fierro threw a fine game, piling up seven strikeouts in five shutout innings, going without a walk. The bullpen covered the last four innings, not giving up a run and sealing their 5-0 win.

Dalton Kelly 3-for-3 2B RBI R

Joe McCarthy 1-for-4

Justin Williams 1-for-2 BB

Cade Gotta 2-for-3 2 R K SB

Advanced Class-A Port Charlotte Stone Crabs (44-50)

The Crabs were topped by the Tampa Yankees 5-2. The Yankees jumped on starter Tyler Brashears for five runs in the first four innings, knocking him out of the game with only 3 innings worth of outs recorded. Jim Haley and Peter Maris knocked in an RBI each in the bottom of the fifth inning against former first rounder Dillon Tate. He would shut down the Crabs the rest of the way though, as Port Charlotte failed to record a run the rest of the game. The loss dropped Charlotte to 13-13 for the second half.

Kevin Padlo 1-for-3 2B BB K

Ryan Boldt 1-for-5 K

Brandon Lowe 0-for-3 BB

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (47-47)

Backed by four runs, Bowling Green's pitching staff lead the way in a 4-1 win over the Burlington Bees. With the bases loaded and no one out in the first, Jesus Sanchez brought a run home on a sacrifice fly. Following a double steal by Josh Lowe and Garrett Whitley, Jonah Heim and Robbie Tenerowicz each struck out to end the threat.

The Bees would tie the game in the third. In the bottom half of the third, Jesus Sanchez beat out a potential inning ending double play to help plate the second run of the night for Bowling Green. The Hot Rods added a couple insurance runs in the fifth inning and rode Deivy Mendez and Orlando Romero's combined four shutout innings to the win. The Hot Rods' season record imoroved to 47-47, but their improved play the last few weeks has them at 16-11 in the second half.

Josh Lowe 2-for-4 R 2 K 2 SB

Garrett Whitley 2-for-4 SB

Lucius Fox 1-for-4 R K

Jesus Sanchez 0-for-2 2 RBI BB SB

Adrian Rondon 1-for-3 BB

Short Season Class-A Hudson Valley Renegades (13-16)

The Renegades thrashed the Staten Island Yankees 9-2. With a 1-0 lead in the third inning, Brendan McKay hit his first home run as a Renegade. Vidal Brujan took one deep the next inning for a two-run homer, his second in as many days. The Renegades had nine on the board through five innings and cruised to a 9-2 finish.

Brendan McKay 2-for-5 HR 3 RBI R

Vidal Brujan 2-for-5 HR RBI R

Rookie-Level Princeton Rays (12-16)

The Princeton Rays battered the Pulaski Yankees' pitching staff in a 13-7 win. With the help of three home runs, Princeton lead 8-1 after just four innings. Pulaski fought back near the end, posting five runs in the final three innings, but the Rays' early offense proved too much for the Yankees to handle

Rookie-Level DSL Rays 1 (11-28)

The Rays first Dominican Summer League team blanked the DSL Dodgers1 2-0. Each starter traded zeros, with Fraylin Santos (Rays1) going 5 and Juan Morillo (Dodgers1) going 4. The Rays would squeak through two runs in the sixth inning on a two-run single from Bryan Santos, and the score would hold at 2-0. The win put the Rays on the victorious side of the scoreboard for the first time since July 11th.

Rookie-Level DSL Rays 2 (20-17)

The Rays’ second Dominican Summer League team got edged out by the DSL Dodgers2 3-2 in the 10th inning. The Rays led 2-1 after six innings, aided by two Dodger errors. The Dodgers picked up a run in the seventh inning, and walked off in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Rookie-Level GCL Rays (8-14)

In a rain shortened five inning game, the GCL Rays won 5-1 over the GCL Twins. Each team put up a run in the first inning and went scoreless from the second to the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fifth, the Rays put up four runs, aided by a Vincent Byrd two-run single. The win was the Rays’ 8th of the season.

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